Art may be defined as "the expression by man of
his pleasure in labour" [Pevsner] but does my love for handicrafts also entrap me in the 19th century like William Morris. Morris tried to rebel against mass production of cheap, poor quality items; which yes, in an ideal world would be replaced by individual unique pieces but who doesn't like walking around the boldly coloured circuit of an Ikea shop?
I love making, from knitwear to screen printing and origami to baking. It gives me a sense of achievement, to take something from it's raw state and see it through a process into a polished, final object, especially when it's an object another human being would happily hand money over, for it's ownership. The catch 22 arises when you try to sell, how do you put a price on something you've put your heart and soul into? On one hand you want everyone to be able to own your unique handmade pieces but on the other, you want to break even with costs and time. After fighting a hard battle with my conscience I decided on ignoring the latter; surprisingly I've since opened up an Etsy shop.
With regards to the choices between right and wrong, handmade and mass produced, there is in fact no black and white answer. Without mass production how could you appreciate the handmade? The truth is, you wouldn't.
